Cold Smoked Cheese
Cold smoking cheese is an easy way to add extra smoke flavor to blocks of cheese for charcuterie boards, sandwiches, or any recipe that includes grated or sliced cheese. With a few basic supplies and your choice of cheeses, like cheddar, provolone, pepper jack, etc., you can make your own cold smoked cheese at home!
Equipment
- 1 smoke tube
- wood pellets cherry, apple, hickory, or oak flavored
- 1 propane torch optional, to light the pellet tube
- grill with lid
- sheet tray and wire rack
- ice cubes
Ingredients
- 8 oz block of your choice of cheese (cheddar, gouda, mozzarella, Swiss, Monterey Jack, provolone, etc)
- your choice of seasoning optional for extra flavor
Instructions
- Prepare the smoke tube. Fill your smoke tube about 80% full with your choice of wood pellets. Lay the smoke tube down on the grill grates in the area where you want it to be during the smoking time. Use a torch to light the wood pellets on one end of the tube. Let the pellets burn with the grill lid open for about 5 minutes to make sure that the pellets light and produce consistent smoke. *If there is still a flame present after this time, blow it out so that the pellets are smoldering. Then close the grill lid.
- Prepare the cheese blocks. Cut the blocks of cheese so they are about 1" thick (if needed - most 8 oz blocks are the perfect size already). Add several ice cubes to a sheet tray. Place a wire rack on top of the ice. Unwrap the cheese and place on the wire rack, making sure there is space between each block to allow smoke to circulate. Add a sprinkling of seasoning to the top of the cheese if using.
- Cold smoke the cheese. Place the sheet tray with the cheese on the grill grates on the opposite side of the grill as the smoke tube. Close the grill lid, and cold smoke the cheese for 1-3 hours, depending on what type of cheese you are using and how much smoke flavor you want. *You can also place a thermometer inside the grill to monitor the temperature of the grill chamber. If the temperature rises above 90°F, the cheese may melt. Add more ice cubes to the bottom of the sheet tray as needed.
- Wrap the cheese and refrigerate. After the smoking time, remove the cheese from the grill. Wrap the blocks of cheese in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight until ready to use.
Notes
- Cold smoking works best in mild or cool weather. If the outside temperature is too high, it can be challenging to keep the temperature of your grill chamber low enough so the cheese doesn't melt. If needed, add more ice cubes to the sheet tray during the smoking process.
- For added flavor, you can sprinkle the block of cheese with spices or seasoning before cold smoking. Example - If smoking cheddar to grate for pig shots, you can sprinkle on some barbecue seasoning.